I would hold you
by SnarkyCoffee
Summary: The Doctor's response to a difficult question. Based on idea Rose dies at end of Season two. Either 9Rose or TenRose because they're the same time lord in the end. :


**A/N: SPOILERS! For "The Parting of the Ways" and rumors concerning Rose for the end of season two, aka her possible death.**

**Set before the end of season two after "Love and Monsters"or "Fear her" (but NO SPOILERS for those), where Rose wonders what the doctor would do if she dies. Created on the basis of Rose having a feeling that she's going to die soon, as a result of the vortex having been in her. The Doctor's POV, it's the tenth doctor, but he's going to sound an awful lot like the ninth, sorry. Rose/Doc shippiness, both 9 and 10, since they're the same time lord. :D**

ooOIOoo

I'm worried. Rose isn't herself. I don't know what's wrong with her, but she's got something on her mind. It's nagging her, haunting her every move.

I can see the fear in her eyes as she sits across from me, wanting to ask a question but dreading the answer. _What is it Rose? What can be so terrible you can't tell me? Please, Rose, let me in. _

Our eyes meet as I glance again at her, and I refuse to back down. She holds my gaze, reaching out to me like a lifeline.

And I try to tell her again: _let me in, Rose Tyler. Let me heal you._

I see her sigh as she finally looks away, before walking over to me. Offering my hand, she takes it, and I slide down to sit on the floor beside her.

Hugging her closer, I try again: "Tell me, Rose, tell me what's wrong so I can fix it…I can fix anything, right?" I joke lightly, watching as her face clears for a moment and she smiles.

"You think you're just so impressive don't ya?" she says quietly, laughter lacing her voice. She turns to face me, reaching one hand up to touch my face gently. I close my eyes, enjoying the brief moment of contact, wishing it would last.

Embarrassed, I open my eyes to see Rose turn her face towards my chest, nestling herself there like a little bird.

Squeezing my hand tighter, she finally answers me, although so low and quietly that I wouldn't have heard it if we hadn't been so close.

"What you do if I died, Doctor?"

My hearts falter at her words. My first reaction is to hold her closer and tell her it won't happen, that I'd destroy the universe to keep her with me.

Then I remember this is Rose, my Rose who held the vortex in her, who saw that all things come to an end, and I know I can't lie to her. Moving my head to rest on top of hers, I speak my thoughts as they come.

"_I would hold you as you lay dying Rose Tyler._

_I would take you to a park, with green trees and soft sunshine, and lay us down among the wildflowers._

_I would put you head in my lap, and stroke your hair, listening to the wind rustle in the woods and the birds singing goodnight._

_As you took your last breath, I would be there, our hands entwined. _

_And I would tell you that there's no reason to fear, that we'll see each other again, if only in memories. _

_And before you left me, Rose Tyler, I would tell you this: that I love you, love you beyond the boundaries of time and with all the love in my soul. _

_And as your eyes closed from the shadows of this world into the clear skies of the next, then, then, is when I would shatter Rose Tyler, because despite it all I am human, and I will grieve. _

_And I will mourn for you, as I mourn for my planet, because all things come to an end, yet my time is so far away. _

_I will miss you Rose Tyler. And I will envy those who see you, there where I cannot follow. But I will find you Rose- if it takes me eternity I'll find you again, and this time I'll keep you forever."_

I'm crying as I finish, unable to stop the fear from escaping any longer. Then I feel her arms around me, and her voice whispering in my ear.

"Don't cry Doctor, I'm sorry, I didn't want to ask ya because I knew you'd be upset. But all things must die, I don't fear it, and neither should you," She pauses awkwardly, pulling back and cupping my face in her hand.

" I just wanted to-_needed_ to ask ya that, because I think my time is coming. I feel it, with the traces of time left in me, that I'm almost done. And I couldn't go without making sure we'd be okay. That you'll move on, and have a- have a really, really, great life after I'm gone. Because there's so much more for you to do, my Doctor." She finishes, gazing into my eyes as intently as I'm looking into hers. I hold her hand tighter, praying she's wrong. But I see the need in her eyes, so I promise her.

"I'll do that Rose. Because you did it for me, I'll do it for you. I promise," reassuring her, wishing that day would never come. And we huddle together, taking solace in this brief moment of peace, trying to keep the wolves that howl in the storm at bay, if only for a little longer.

Then I hear her whisper again, as she curls around me, "I love you too Doctor, always have, always will."

I can't stop the sad smile that forms on my face as I tell her that I know, that I had always known. My Rose falls asleep, my words washing away all her fears of tomorrow. As I watch her slumber, I wonder if I've made the right choice in sheilding her from the inevitable by comforting her today.

_Why shouldn't I tell her? She'd want to know..._

I answer my own question in a voice from my past. _Because my love shouldn't have to see the endless stream of fate that permeates my mind. Shouldn't have to know that she's right, that our time together was always running out, as it had always been: first for me, and now for her. Just for once, the woman who loved a time lord should have peace, if only for this moment. Save her while you can, save her for both of us._ I nod to myself as I shift to lay down beside Rose, pulling her gently to my chest. Slowly, the past and future fade away as I allow myself to sleep, free of nightmares and the eddies of time.

**Bad? Really bad? Great? Fantastic? Depressing? Joyful? Enervating? Review and send me an adjective! Please! (Author grovels)**


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